In the race against the clock, don't let the clock win.
I'm letting go of my manic need for punctuality. I am. I promise. Seriously. This is one you should definitely listen to as well as read.
“Be on time”! is what I heard my parents say.
“Downbeat at seven”! is what I heard my band teacher, Mr. Waldmier, say.
“I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!
No time to say “Hello! Goodbye! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late! “
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! I’m overdue! I’m really in a stew.”
and the Red Queen responded,
“Off with her head!”
but I had already lost it.
As my husband once asked me:
“When you race against the clock, Janice, who wins”?
I showed up on time,
for years,
for decades,
at my desk before market opening,
until the market never closed
so it didn’t matter,
but to be honest,
that never took the pressure off.
To be honest,
cutting myself some slack
was a skill I never learned
until after I retired and was tired of promptness,
two decades into AARP,
by which time, I surely should be
one of those prompt seniors
with little else to do
than arrive half an hour early,
(five ‘til considered late).
But why stress over minutes
one way or the other?
Why hear authority figures chide?
Why tighten your chest and throat,
work yourself up,
text “I’m on my way?”
That’s when I’ve learned
to breathe,
envisioning my parking spot,
not quite handicapped yet,
but handicapped-adjacent.
Leisurely, I amble into a gathering,
smiling, exuding serenity,
nonchalantly pretending
I don’t know
(I don’t even care)
how close to being on time I am.
Oscar Wilde intoned:
“...punctuality is the thief of time.”
Evelyn Waugh agreed that it
“is the virtue of the bored.”
I smile concurrence
and breathe some more.
The show will go on, even if,
the curtain goes up at five after, and
the late Janice Hoffmann won’t care.
Remember to let go of what no longer serves you and if you have an old habit you want to get rid of, like an obsession for being on time, just do it, my friend, just let it go.
Please leave a comment and let me know if anyone else struggles with being on time, and if you liked this, please subscribe for free, and also share with a friend. I look forward to seeing you next week.